tural impulse, on beholding this band, was to
mount his horse and fly, for his mind naturally enough recurred to the
former rough treatment he had experienced at the hands of Indians. On
second thoughts, however, he considered it wiser to throw himself upon
the hospitality of the strangers; "for," thought he, "they can but
kill me, an' if I remain here I'm like to die at any rate."

So Dick mounted his wild horse, grasped his rifle in his right hand,
and, followed by Crusoe, galloped full tilt down the valley to meet
them.

He had heard enough of the customs of savage tribes, and had also of
late experienced enough, to convince him that when a man found himself
in the midst of an overwhelming force, his best policy was to assume
an air of confident courage. He therefore approached them at his
utmost speed.

The effect upon the advancing band was electrical; and little wonder,
for the young hunter's appearance was very striking. His horse, from
having rested a good deal of late, was full of spirit. Its neck was
arched, its nostrils expanded, and its mane and tail never having been
checked in their growth flew wildly around him in voluminous curls.
Dick's own hair, not having been clipped for many months, appeared
scarcely less wild, as they thundered down the rocky pass at what
appeared a break-neck gallop. Add to this the grandeur of the scene
out of which they sprang, and the gigantic dog that bounded by his
side, and you will not be surprised to hear that the Indian warriors
clustered together, and prepared to receive this bold horseman as if
he, in his own proper person, were a complete squadron of cavalry. It
is probable, also, that they fully expected the tribe of which Dick
was the chief to be at his heels.

As he drew near the excitement among the strangers seemed very great,
and, from the peculiarity of the various cries that reached him, he
knew that there were women and children in the band--a fact which, in
such a place and at such a season, was so unnatural that it surprised
him very much. He noted also that, though the men in front were
Indians, their dresses were those of trappers and hunters, and he
almost leaped out of his saddle when he observed that "_Pale-faces_"
were among them. But he had barely time to note these facts when he
was up with the band. According to Indian custom, he did not check his
speed till he was within four or five yards of the advance-guard, who
stood in a line before him,